A worker uses a broom to clean Copenhagen's world famous statue of The Little Mermaid that has been exposed to vandalism and was painted red on May 30, 2017. (IDA MARIE ODGAARD/AFP/Getty Images)AFP/Getty Images

A woman looks at Copenhagen's world famous statue of The Little Mermaid that has been exposed to vandalism and was painted red on May 30, 2017. (IDA MARIE ODGAARD/AFP/Getty Images)AFP/Getty Images

A worker uses a broom to clean Copenhagen's world famous statue of The Little Mermaid that has been exposed to vandalism and was painted red on May 30, 2017. (IDA MARIE ODGAARD/AFP/Getty Images)AFP/Getty Images

Red paint covers the vandalized tourist attraction The Little Mermaid in Copenhagen Tuesday May 30 2017. Copenhagen’s famed Little Mermaid statue was found doused with red paint Tuesday. On the ground before the statue was written in the red in English "Denmark defend the whales of the Faeroe Islands." Danish media say that likely was a reference to the annual pilot whales drive in the North Atlantic islands during the summer months. (Jens Dresling/ Ritzau Foto via AP)AP

This is a Tuesday May 15, 2007 file photo of Copenhagen's famed Little Mermaid statue after being covered with paint by vandals, the second time it has been defaced since March. The statue was once again vandalized on Tuesday May 30, 2017. (AP Photo/John McConnico/File)AP

This is a Saturday, March 3, 2007 file photo of the Little Mermaid statue after it was sprayed with pink paint in Copenhagen, Denmark. The statue was once again vandalized on Tuesday May 30, 2017. (AP Photo/Kristoffer Eriksen/File)AP

This is a Tuesday morning, Jan 6, 1998 file photo of Copenhagen's world famous tourist attraction, The Little Mermaid, in Copenhagen's harbour after her decapitation by unknown offenders during the night. The statue was once again vandalized on Tuesday May 30, 2017. (AP Photo/Mogens Flindt)AP

This is a 1964 file photo of the beheaded of The Little Mermaid statue in Copenhagen. The statue was once again vandalized on Tuesday May 30, 2017. (AP Photo/Bjarne Luethke/ File)AP

This is a Feb. 7, 1972 file photo of a sea gull rests as it on the head of the 'Little Mermaid' statue after the harbor landmark was splashed with white paint in Copenhagen, Denmark. The statue was once again vandalized on Tuesday May 30, 2017. (AP Photo)AP

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Vandals target Little Mermaid statue

COPENHAGEN — Danish officials on Tuesday hosed down Copenhagen’s famed Little Mermaid after the statue was found doused with red paint.

On the ground in front of the statue was written in the red, in English, “Denmark defend the whales of the Faeroe Islands” — likely a reference to the drive hunting of pilot whales in the North Atlantic islands during the summer months, Danish media say.

Authorities on the Faeroe Islands allow islanders to drive herds of pilot whales into shallow waters, where they are stabbed to death. The meat and blubber are shared afterward in the non-commercial slaughter, a practice that dates from the late 16th century. The whales are not an endangered species.

Island officials say that the pilot whale population in the eastern North Atlantic is abundant with about 778,000 whales, with approximately 100,000 around the Faroe Islands. Islanders hunt and kill on average 800 pilot whales each year.

The Little Mermaid was created by Danish sculptor Edvard Eriksen in tribute to the Danish storyteller Hans Christian Andersen. Sitting on a rock at the entrance of the Copenhagen harbour since 1913, she also been a popular target for vandals, who have blown her off her perch, beheaded her, and painted her.

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